Card connector

ABSTRACT

In a card connector of the present invention, an eject plate has a push-moving portion, an engaging portion and a spring portion, and can be switched to two positions by a heart cam. In an electric connecting state of the card and the connector, the eject plate is set to a second position, and its engaging portion is engaged with a notch formed in the card, and the release of the engagement is prevented by a guide wall, and no card can be pulled out even when strong pulling-out force is applied to the card (full lock). When the eject plate is moved from the second position to a first position by a tension spring, the card is pushed out by the push-moving portion. The engaging portion is also engaged with the notch of the card in this first position, but the release of the engagement is allowed by the wall portion, and the card can be pulled out by elastically deforming the spring portion (half lock).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a card connector used in the connectionof a card such as a memory card, etc. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to the construction of an eject mechanism fordischarging the inserted card in such a card connector.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, a compact memory card is widely used to record voicedata and image data photographed by a digital camera.

It is known that the eject mechanism is arranged so as to discharge theinserted and connected card by a simple operation in the connector onthe side of a device using such a card.

When the card is discharged by using such an eject mechanism, there is afear that the card drops and is damaged when the card is ejected fromthe connector with strong force. Therefore, it is known that the cardconnector has a lock mechanism (a so-called half lock mechanism) forholding the card in a state not perfectly pulled out of a card insertionport while the electric connection of an electrode portion and aninput-output terminal of the connector is released by suitablypulling-out the card when the eject operation is performed in aconnecting state of the card.

In this half lock, the card is held in the card insertion port withsuitable holding force. Even when force intended to pull out the card isapplied in this state, no card is pulled out when this force is small.Namely, no card is naturally pulled out in the half lock state even whenthe card insertion port side is turned upside down so as to bedownwardly located, or is vibrated by a normal use. In contrast to this,the card can be easily taken out when strong force is applied to thecard such that the card is gripped by a hand and is pulled out.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 135192/1999 and 2001-185286disclose a construction having the above half lock mechanism in the cardconnector of a push-push type using a heart cam mechanism.

On the other hand, in a state in which the card is connected and theelectric connection of the electrode portion and the input-outputterminal of the connector is made, it is advantageous to arrange a lockmechanism (a so-called full lock mechanism) for preventing thepulling-out of the card with holding force able to resist the strongforce when the strong force for gripping and pulling-out the card by theuser's hand is applied. This is because the pulling-out of the card dueto a mistake of the user can be prevented and erasion and damage ofstored contents of the memory card can be prevented.

In this respect, the half lock mechanism is simply arranged and theabove full lock mode cannot be set in each of the techniques disclosedin the above Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 135192/1999 and 2001-185286.

On the other hand, the construction for arranging both the half lockmechanism and the full lock mechanism is disclosed in Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 149956/1999.

However, in this technique, the full lock mechanism and the half lockmechanism are separately constructed and this construction isdisadvantageous in view of the number of parts and compactness of thedevice. Further, when the card is pulled out in this construction, thecard must be pulled out after an operation for releasing the full lockis once performed. Accordingly, the user must perform a complicatedoperation.

Further, the full lock state using the full lock mechanism is a statefor resisting force for compulsorily pulling-out the card by the user.Accordingly, the full lock state must be a state in which the card isfirmly locked in the connecting state and holding force able to preventthe pulling-out of the card must be shown even when considerably strongforce is applied. Further, in the full lock mechanism, durability isalso required so as not to be easily damaged and worn even when suchstrong force is applied many times.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In consideration of the above problems, an object of the presentinvention is to provide a card connector able to prevent the card frombeing naturally pulled out and ejected and extracted in error byadopting two modes constructed by the half lock and the full lock inaccordance with cases without damaging the simple operability of thepush-push type, and having a simple construction for this prevention andsuitable for a reduction in the number of parts and compactness.

The present invention resides in a card connector comprising a housingfor forming a card storing space for inserting a card from an opening,and having an input-output terminal corresponding to an electrodeportion of the card; an eject member able to be moved along insertingand pulling directions of the card, and switched to a “first position”and a “second position” located on the side far from the opening incomparison with the “first position” by a heart cam mechanism; biasingmeans for biasing the eject member in the card pulling-out direction; apush-moving portion integrally formed in the eject member, and able toabut on an end portion of the card in its inserting direction; anengaging portion arranged in the eject member, and projected to the cardstoring space and engaged with a notch formed in the card when the endportion of the card in its inserting direction comes in contact with thepush-moving portion; a spring portion arranged in the eject member, andescaping the engaging portion from the card storing space and releasingthe engagement of the engaging portion and the notch by elasticallydeforming the spring portion; and a guide portion arranged in thehousing so as to allow the escape of the engaging portion from the cardstoring space when the eject member is located in the “first position”,and prevent the escape of the engaging portion from the card storingspace when the eject member is located in the “second position”.

In accordance with this construction, the following operations andeffects can be attained.

[1] A full lock state is attained in a state in which the card iscompletely inserted and the eject member is located in the “secondposition” and the electrode portion is connected to the input-outputterminal. In this full lock state, the engaging portion of the ejectmember is inserted into the notch of the card, and the release of thisengagement is prevented by the guide portion, and no card can be pulledout even when strong force is applied to the card. Accordingly,stability of the electric connection is secured even when vibration isapplied to the side of a device. Further, the pulling-out of the cardperformed in error by a user can be prevented.

[2] When an eject operation is performed and the position of the ejectmember is moved from the “second position” to the “first position” byobtaining biasing force of the biasing means, the push-moving portion ofthe eject member abuts on the end portion of the card in its insertingdirection, and pushes out the card in the pulling-out direction. Thus,the perfect inserting state of the card in the above [1] is released. Atthis time, since the inserting state of the engaging portion into thenotch of the card is maintained by the action of the spring portion, thecard is not forcibly ejected from the card storing space, but is held ina position corresponding to the “first position” of the eject member.

[3] A half lock state in set when the eject member is located in the“first position”. In this state, no card is pulled out of the connectorwhen the device is turned upside down so as to downwardly direct thisside of the housing and vibration is caused approximately by a normaluse. On the other hand, the release of the engagement of the engagingportion and the notch is allowed by the guide portion. Accordingly, whenpulling-out force stronger than the biasing force of the spring portionis applied to the card as in the pulling-out of the card performed bythe user, etc., the engagement of the engaging portion and the notch isreleased by the elastic deformation of the spring portion so that thecard can be easily pulled out.

In the card connector of the present invention, the above engagingportion and the above spring portion are preferably integrally formed inthe eject member.

The number of parts and manufacture cost/the number of processes can bereduced by this construction.

In the card connector of the present invention, the above eject membermay be formed by synthetic resin.

The eject member can be cheaply constructed by a small process numberand manufacture cost can be reduced by this construction.

The present invention also resides in a card connector comprising ahousing for forming a card storing space for inserting a card from anopening, and having an input-output terminal corresponding to anelectrode portion of the card; an eject member able to be moved alonginserting and pulling directions of the card, and switched to a “firstposition” and a “second position” located on the side far from theopening in comparison with the “first position”; biasing means forbiasing the eject member in the card pulling-out direction; apush-moving portion integrally formed in the eject member, and able toabut on an end portion of the card in its inserting direction; anengaging portion arranged in the eject member, and projected to the cardstoring space and engaged with a notch formed in the card when the endportion of the card in its inserting direction comes in contact with thepush-moving portion; a spring portion arranged in the eject member, andescaping the engaging portion from the card storing space and releasingthe engagement of the engaging portion and the notch by elasticallydeforming the spring portion; and a guide portion arranged in thehousing so as to allow the escape of the engaging portion from the cardstoring space when the eject member is located in the “first position”,and prevent the escape of the engaging portion from the card storingspace when the eject member is located in the “second position”; whereinat least the engaging portion of the eject member is formed by thesynthetic resin, and the engaging portion is formed in a thick wallshape.

In accordance with this construction, even when the card is pulled outin error by compulsory force in the full lock state for connecting thecard to the connector, plastic deformation of the engaging portion isprevented so that durability of the eject member is excellent.

The present invention further resides in a card connector comprising ahousing for forming a card storing space for inserting a card from anopening, and having an input-output terminal corresponding to anelectrode portion of the card; an eject member able to be moved alonginserting and pulling directions of the card, and switched to a “firstposition” and a “second position” located on the side far from theopening in comparison with the “first position”; biasing means forbiasing the eject member in the card pulling-out direction; apush-moving portion integrally formed in the eject member, and able toabut on an end portion of the card in its inserting direction; anengaging portion arranged in the eject member, and projected to the cardstoring space and engaged with a notch formed in the card when the endportion of the card in its inserting direction comes in contact with thepush-moving portion; a spring portion arranged in the eject member, andescaping the engaging portion from the card storing space and releasingthe engagement of the engaging portion and the notch by elasticallydeforming the spring portion; and a guide portion arranged in thehousing so as to allow the escape of the engaging portion from the cardstoring space when the eject member is located in the “first position”,and prevent the escape of the engaging portion from the card storingspace when the eject member is located in the “second position”; whereinthe guide portion is constructed such that the engaging portion engagedwith the notch of the card can reduce a projecting amount to the cardstoring space when the card is connected to the connector and the ejectmember is held in the “second position” and pulling-out force is appliedto the card; and a regulating portion able to prevent the displacementof the eject member to the “first position” is formed in the guideportion when the engaging portion of the eject member located in the“second position” reduces the projecting amount to the card storingspace.

In accordance with this construction, when it is intended that the cardis forcibly pulled out in the full lock state for connecting the card tothe connector, the engaging portion reduces the projecting amount to thecard storing space, and the regulating portion prevents the movement ofthe eject member from the “second position” to the “first position” atthis time. Accordingly, the mistaken pulling-out of the card is reliablyprevented, and situations such as the erasion of stored contents of thecard, etc. can be avoided. Further, it is prevented that the engagingportion of the eject member is broken by plastic deformation, anddurability of the eject member is excellent.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention willappear more fully from the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire construction of aconnector in accordance with one embodiment mode of the presentinvention and a card inserted into this connector.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the connector.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the connector.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view showing the main portion of a heart cammechanism.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a suitable for allowing/preventing the escapeof an engaging portion in accordance with the position of an ejectplate, where FIG. 5A shows a “first position” of the eject plate, andFIG. 5B shows a “second position” of the eject plate.

FIG. 6 is a view showing a situation in which the card is inserted intothe connector from FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B.

FIG. 7 is a view showing a situation in which the card is pushed-insubsequently to FIG. 6 and attains the states of a half lock of FIG. 7Cand a full lock of FIG. 7D.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a situation in which the card is transferredfrom a card connecting state (full lock) of FIG. 8E to the state of ahalf lock of FIG. 8F.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a situation in which the card is pulled outfrom FIG. 9G to FIG. 9H subsequently to FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a situation in which the card is insertedinto the connector of a second embodiment mode in the order of FIGS.10A, 10B, 10C and 10D.

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view showing a situation in which the cardis inserted into the connector of a third embodiment mode in order ofFIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D.

FIG. 12 is a view showing a construction for preventing the mistakenpulling-out of the card in the full lock state in the first embodimentmode.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A card connector in accordance with one preferred embodiment mode of thepresent invention will next be explained with reference to the drawings.

In a first embodiment mode shown in FIG. 1, a card connector 1 has ahousing 3 for storing a card 2, and an eject mechanism 4 assembled intothe housing 3. The card 2 is a memory card used in a mobile electronicdevice such as a digital camera, etc., and can record, e.g., image dataphotographed by the digital camera. Ten face-shaped electrode portions 5are arranged in parallel with each other on the lower face of one endportion of this card 2 in its longitudinal direction.

As shown in FIG. 2 as an enlarged view of the connector 1, an opening 6is formed in the housing 3, and a storing space 31 of the card 2 isformed within the housing 3. This housing 3 has a lower side halfportion 7 formed by synthetic resin, and an upper side half portion 8for covering the upper face of this lower side half portion 7 andmanufactured by a metal. In FIGS. 1 and 2, for convenience of theillustration of the internal space of the housing 3, the upper side halfportion 8 to be originally shown by a solid line is perspectivelyillustrated by a chain line.

The lower side half portion 7 is approximately formed in a concave shapeseen from the above opening 6 side. When the card 2 is inserted from theopening 6, the lower side half portion 7 can guide the lower face of thecard 2 and its both side edges.

An input-output terminal 9 is arranged on the deep side of the lowerside half portion 7, and is molded by bending an electrically conductiveleaf spring formed in an elongated band shape. Then input-outputterminals 9 are arranged correspondingly to the above face-shapedelectrode portions 5 of the card 2. When the card 2 is perfectlyinserted until the interior of the housing 3, the input-output terminal9 is electrically connected to the face-shaped electrode portion 5.

The eject mechanism 4 will be explained with reference to FIG. 2 as anenlarged view of the connector 1 and FIG. 3 as a plan view of theconnector 1. This eject mechanism 4 is constructed by an eject plate 16(eject member) able to push and move an end portion of the card 2 in itsinserting direction, a tension spring (biasing means) 17 for biasing theeject plate 16 in the pulling-out direction of the card 2, a rod 18having one end connected to the eject plate, a heart cam 19 engaged withthe other end of the rod 18, and a leaf spring 20 for pressing an endportion of the rod 18 on the engaging side of the heart cam 19.

The eject plate 16, the tension spring 17, the rod 18, the heart cam 19and the leaf spring 20 are arranged in an extension portion 21 formed ina side portion of one side of the lower side half portion 7 of thehousing 3 (a side portion on the right-hand side seen toward the opening6 in this embodiment mode).

In the eject plate 16, a push-moving portion 16a is constructed byperpendicularly bending one end of an elongated plate-shaped memberhaving a uniform thickness and manufactured by a metal so as to beprojected on the card storing space 31 side. This push-moving portion16a is arranged to abut on the end portion of the card 2 in itsinserting direction and push and move the card 2 in the pulling-outdirection when an eject operation described later is performed.

An elongated guide wall 24 is perpendicularly formed in the lower sidehalf portion 7 of the housing 3 such that the longitudinal direction ofthe elongated guide wall 24 is set along the inserting and pulling-outdirections of the card. A thin support wall 25 is perpendicularly formedalong the guide wall 24 at a small interval (an interval correspondingto the thickness of the eject plate 16) from the guide wall 24 so thatan intermediate portion of the eject plate 16 is nipped between theguide wall 24 and the support wall 25. Thus, the eject plate 16 can bemoved along the inserting and pulling-out directions of the card whilethe eject plate 16 is nipped and supported between the guide wall 24 andthe support wall 25.

In an intermediate portion of the eject plate 16, a connecting portion16b having an L-shape formed by continuously connecting a horizontalportion and a vertical portion is formed in a shape transversallyprojected at the upper edge of this intermediate portion. Thisconnecting portion 16b is formed so as to detour the guide wall 24 fromthe upper side, and a hole for engaging the above tension spring 17 andthe rod 18 is formed in the vertical portion of this connecting portion16b.

One end of the tension spring 17 is engaged with the connecting portion16b of the above eject plate 16, and the other end is engaged with theengaging wall 23 arranged in the extension portion 21 of the housing 3so that the tension spring 17 biases the eject plate 16 at any time inthe pulling-out direction of the card. A “first position” of the ejectplate 16 described later is prescribed by making the above push-movingportion 16a formed in the eject plate 16 come in contact with an endportion of the above support wall 25 as shown in FIG. 3.

One end of the rod 18 transversally bent is engaged with the connectingportion 16b of the above eject plate 16, and the other end similarlytransversally bent is engaged with the heart cam 19 explained below.

As shown in FIG. 4 as an enlarged side view showing the main portion ofthis heart cam 19, the heart cam 19 is constructed by grooves in which afirst point 19a, a first bending point 19b, a second point 19c and asecond bending point 19d are continuously formed approximately in aheart shape. These grooves are formed in the side wall of the extensionportion 21 on the deep side of the housing. A step difference and aninclination are suitably formed (not illustrated) in the bottom portionof this cam groove. The tip of the rod 18 is transversally biased in thedirection inserted into the groove by the above leaf spring 20 arrangedso as to cover the groove, and comes in contact with the bottom portionof the cam groove.

In this construction, when the eject plate 16 is located in a position(hereinafter called a “first position”) shown in FIG. 3, the tip of therod 18 connected to the eject plate 16 is located at the first point19a.

When the eject plate 16 is pushed against the biasing force of thetension spring 17 from this state in the inserting direction of thecard, the tip of the rod 18 connected to the eject plate 16 is moved asshown by an arrow A of FIG. 4, and reaches the first bending portion 19bfrom the first point 19a. When the push-moving force is released fromthis state, the tip of the rod 18 is moved as shown by an arrow B ofFIG. 4, and reaches the second point 19c and is engaged with this secondpoint 19c. As this result, the eject plate 16 is rested in a position (aposition on the side far from the opening 6 in comparison with the above“first position” and is hereinafter called a “second position”) on theside of the housing 3 deeper than the “first position” of FIG. 3.

When the eject plate 16 located in this “second position” is nextfurther pushed and moved in the inserting direction of the card, the tipof the rod 18 connected to the eject plate 16 reaches the second bendingportion 19d from the second point 19c as shown by an arrow C. The tip ofthe rod 18 moves the cam groove as shown by an arrow D by releasing thepushing movement from this state, and the eject plate 16 applying theelastic force of the tension spring 17 thereto is returned to the above“first position”.

Thus, the heart cam 19 can be held by switching the position of theeject plate 16 connected to the cam through the rod 18 to the “firstposition” corresponding to the first point 19a and the “second position”corresponding to the second point 19c.

Thus, a rational method can be adopted by constructing the connector ofa push-push type utilizing the heart cam 19 when the card once connectedis pulled out. In this rational method, [1] the card is slightly pushedin toward the deep side of the housing by pushing the end portion of thecard by a finger in a state projected from the opening to the exterior,and [2] the discharged card is pulled out by gripping this card by thisfinger.

This method is very simple in comparison with the case of the connector(a connector described in e.g., Japanese Patent No. 3065310) of aconstruction having an eject button. Namely, when the connected card isdetached in the connector of the eject button type, [1] an operation(card eject operation) for pushing-in the eject button normally arrangedby the side of an opening by a finger is performed, and [2] an operationfor gripping and pulling-out the end portion of the card must be thenperformed, and fingers must be located in two positions of the ejectbutton and the card slightly separated from each other. In contrast tothis, in the connector of the push-push type, the card eject operationcan be performed by slightly pushing-in the end portion of the card by afinger. Accordingly, it is possible to then rapidly proceed to anoperation for gripping the card end portion. Therefore, a smart cardpulling-out method able to attain the object by a small movement of thefinger can be provided to a user.

Further, since no eject button is required in the above connector of thepush-push type, the number of parts can be reduced and no space forassembling the eject button is required so that the space can besuitably saved.

Further, in the connector of the eject button type, a connector mountingdevice side is restricted in design by the existence of this ejectbutton. When the eject button is conversely preferentially arranged inthe connector mounting device to improve convenience at the time of thecard pulling-out operation of the user, etc., the degree of freedom inthe design of the connector is correspondingly reduced. When it isintended that the requirement of such an arrangement of the ejectionbutton is satisfied, the addition of a special part is required and theoccupying area of the connector is increased. In contrast to these,there are no such disadvantages in the connector of the push-push type.

As shown in FIG. 3, the engaging portion 16c projected to the cardstoring space 31 from the side is constructed by bending the end portionof the eject plate 16 in the card pulling-out direction approximately inan L-shape. This engaging portion 16c is arranged to be engaged with anotch (reference numeral 26 of FIG. 1) formed on one side face of thecard 2. When the card 2 is inserted into the connector 1 and its endportion in the inserting direction comes in contact with the push-movingportion 16a of the above eject plane 16, its position relation isdetermined such that the engaging portion 16c is inserted into the abovenotch 26.

The eject plate 16 is formed by a metallic raw material having a springproperty, and a spring portion 16d able to be elastically deformed isintegrally formed in a portion directed from an intermediate portion ofthe eject plate 16 to the engaging portion 16c (FIG. 3).

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 5, the above guide wall 24 (guideportion) formed on one side face of the eject plate 16 is shaved in astep shape as the guide wall 24 approaches the opening 6 side of thehousing 3. Thus, an escaping space S is formed between the guide wall 24and the eject plate 16.

When the eject plate 16 is located in the above “first position” in thisconstruction, its engaging portion 16c and the spring portion 16d facethe escaping space S as shown in FIG. 5A. At this time, as shown by achain line in this figure, the engaging portion 16c can be escaped fromthe card storing space 31 to the side by elastically deforming thespring portion 16d.

On the other hand, when the eject plate 16 is located in the above“second position”, its engaging portion 16c and the spring portion 16dgo away from the opening 6. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, theengaging portion 16c and the spring portion 16d come in contact with theguide wall 24. Accordingly, there is no room for the elastic deformationof the spring portion 16d so that no engaging portion 16c can be escapedfrom the card storing space 31.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 5A, this engaging portion 16c isformed in a shape in which the engaging portion 16c is projected intothe card storing space 31 at a slight sharp angle (portion a) as theengaging portion 16c approaches the opening 6, and the projecting amountis reduced at a slight gentle angle (portion b) after the projectingamount is set to a maximum. Thus, when the card 2 is inserted, theengaging portion 16c is easily escaped by the action of the portion b sothat the card 2 can be smoothly inserted. In contrast to this, when theengaging portion 16c is engaged with the notch 26 of the card 2 asdescribed later, it is considered that slightly large pulling-out forceis required to escape the engaging portion 16c by the action of theportion a in releasing this engagement and pulling-out the card 2.

In the above construction, the connecting situation of the card 2 to theconnector 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B andFIGS. 7C and 7D.

First, FIG. 6A shows a state in which no card 2 is inserted at all. Atthis time, the position of the eject plate 16 is set to the “firstposition” on the side close to the opening 6, and the engaging portion16c of the eject plate 16 is projected toward the card storing space 31.

FIG. 6B shows a state in which one portion of the card 2 is insertedinto the card storing space from the opening 6. At this time, a sideedge of the card 2 abuts on the engaging portion 16c projected towardthe card storing space 31, but the eject plate 16 is set to the “firstposition” as mentioned above. Therefore, the engaging portion 16c can beescaped as shown by a chain line of FIG. 5A. Accordingly, as shown inFIG. 6B, the engaging portion 16c is escaped from the card storing space31 by elastically deforming the spring portion 16d so as to be pushedaway on the side by the side edge of the card 2 so that no engagingportion 16c obstructs the insertion of the card 2.

As shown in FIG. 7C, when the end portion of the card 2 in its insertingdirection abuts on the push-moving portion 16a of the eject plate 16located in the “first position”, the notch 26 of the above card 2 issimultaneously located in the position of the above engaging portion16c, and the engaging portion 16c is again projected to the card storingspace 31 by restoring force of the above spring portion 16d, and isengaged with the notch 26.

This state of FIG. 7 is a half lock state. Namely, the engaging portion16c and the notch 26 are engaged with each other in the state of FIG.7C. Accordingly, no card 2 is pulled out even when the connector 1 isdirected so as to downwardly locate the opening 6, or vibration causedapproximately by the normal use of a device is applied to the card 2. Incontrast to this, the eject plate 16 is set to the “first position”, andthe engagement of the engaging portion 16c and the notch 26 can bereleased by the elastic deformation of the spring portion 16d.Accordingly, the card 2 can be easily pulled out if pulling-out forcestronger than the elastic force of the spring portion 16d is applied tothe card 2.

When the card 2 is further pushed-in from the state of FIG. 7C, the endportion of the card 2 in its inserting direction pushes-in thepush-moving portion 16a of the eject plate 16 on the deep side of thehousing 3, and the entire eject plate 16 is moved in the directionseparated from the opening 6. At this time, the engaging state of theengaging portion 16c of the eject plate 16 and the notch 26 of the card2 is maintained as it is.

When the eject plate 16 is pushed-in, the tip of the rod 18 connected tothe eject plate 16 is moved from the first point 19a within the camgroove of the heart cam 19 as shown by an arrow A of FIG. 4, and reachesthe first bending point 19b. As the pushing-in force of the card 2 isreleased, the tip of the rod 18 is moved as shown by an arrow B of FIG.4 and reaches the second point 19c and is engaged with this second point19c.

As this result, as shown by FIG. 7D, the face-shaped electrode portion 5of the card 2 is electrically connected to the input-output terminal 9,and the eject plate 16 is held by the above heart cam 19 in the “secondposition”. Thus, the connection of the card 2 is completed.

This state of the FIG. 7D is a full lock state. Namely, in the state ofFIG. 7D, the engaging portion 16c and the notch 26 of the card 2 areengaged with each other, and the eject plate 16 is located in the“second position”. Accordingly, since the escapement of the engagingportion 16c from the card storing space is prevented by the guide wall24 as shown in FIG. 5B, no engagement with the notch 26 can be released.

As shown in FIG. 7D, the engaging portion 16c and the notch 26 arefinally strongly engaged with each other (so as not to be released) in astate in which the face-shaped electrode portion 5 of the card 2 and theinput-output terminal 9 are electrically connected to each other. As aresult, an error in the pulling-out of the card 2 is prevented, and theerasion and damage of stored contents of the memory card can beprevented.

As mentioned above, in this embodiment mode, the full lock state isattained since [1] the eject plate 16 is held by the heart cam mechanism19 in the “second position”, and [2] the engaging portion 16c of theeject plate 16 and the notch 26 of the card 2 are engaged with eachother and the release of this engagement is prevented by the guide wall24.

In other words, it can be said that the role of the full lock of thecard 2 is also played by the heart cam mechanism 19 for switching theposition of the eject member 16. Namely, this construction is excellentsince it is not necessary to particularly arrange a member for the fulllock, and the number of parts is not increased.

The pulling-out situation of the card 2 from the connector 1 will nextbe explained with reference to FIGS. 8E and 8F and FIGS. 9G and 9H.

FIG. 8E is a view completely similar to FIG. 7D, and shows a state inwhich the face-shaped electrode portion 5 of the card 2 is connected tothe input-output terminal 9 and the full lock is set.

A user pushes-in the card 2 by a slight stroke to release thisconnecting state. Thus, the eject plate 16 is pushed by the card 2, andthe tip of the rod 18 connected to the eject plate 16 reaches the secondbending point 19d along an arrow C from the second point 19c of FIG. 4.As the pushing-in force of the card 2 applied by the user is released,the eject plate 16 is moved from the “second position” to the “firstposition” by receiving tensile force of the tension spring 17 (at thistime, the tip of the rod 18 is moved from the second bending portion 19dto the first point 19a as shown by an arrow D). The card 2 is pushed outby the push-moving portion 16a of the eject plate 16 in the cardpulling-out direction, and releases the electric connection of theface-shaped electrode portion 5 and the input-output terminal 9. Thisstate is shown in FIG. 8F.

The engagement of the engaging portion 16c of the eject plate 16 and thenotch 26 of the card 2 is also maintained when the eject plate 16 ispulled by the tensioning spring 17 and is moved from the “secondposition” of FIG. 8E to the “first position” of FIG. 8F and the card 2is pushed and moved by the push-moving portion 16a. Accordingly, whenthe eject plate 16 completes the movement to the “first position” and isrested, it is also prevented that the card 2 is detached from the ejectplate 16 by inertial force and is pulled out and ejected from theopening 6.

This state of FIG. 8F is a half lock state. Namely, since the engagingportion 16c and the notch 26 are engaged with each other, no card 2 ispulled out even when the connector 1 is directed so as to downwardlylocate the opening 6 or vibration caused approximately by the normal useof a device is applied to the card 2. On the other hand, the eject plate16 is set to the “first position”, and the engagement of the engagingportion 16c and the notch 26 can be released at this time by the elasticdeformation of the spring portion 16d as mentioned above. Accordingly,if the pulling-out force stronger than the elastic force of the springportion 16d is applied to the card 2, the card 2 can be easily pulledout in the order of FIG. 8F, FIG. 9G and FIG. 9H.

The first embodiment mode is explained in the above description, but thepresent invention is not limited to this embodiment mode. For example,as shown by the following second and third embodiment modes, the rawmaterial of the eject member is not limited to a metallic raw material.Further, the position of the engaging portion 16c of the eject plate 16can be freely changed in accordance with a change in the position of thenotch 26 of the card 2.

FIG. 10 shows a card connector 11 in accordance with the secondembodiment mode of the present invention. An eject member 16 is arrangedalong a side wall (guide portion) 24 on one side of the housing 3.Differing from the first embodiment mode, this eject member 16 ismanufactured by synthetic resin (e.g., PBT, 6T nylon, etc.), and isconstructed by integrally forming a push-moving portion 16a, an engagingportion 16c and a spring portion 16d able to be elastically deformed.The eject member 16 is constructed so as to be elastically deformed andhave a flexible property. The side wall 24 is shaved in a step shape,and an escaping space S for escaping the engaging portion 16c from acard storing space is formed.

Similar to the above first embodiment mode, the heart cam mechanism andthe tension spring are connected to the eject member 16 although thisconnection is not illustrated. As this result, the eject member 16 canbe held by switching the eject member 16 to a “first position” on theside close to the opening 6 of the housing 3, and a “second position” onthe side far from the opening 6.

The inserting situation of the card into the connector in this secondembodiment mode is shown in the order of FIGS. 10A, 10B, 10C and 10D. Atthis time, the operation performed by the eject plate 16 is completelysimilar to that in the first embodiment mode. The state of FIG. 10C is ahalf lock state in which the eject member 16 is located in the “firstposition”, and the notch 26 and the engaging portion 16c are engagedwith each other, but this engagement can be released. In this state, thecard can be manually gripped and easily pulled out. The state of FIG.10D is a state in which the card and the connector are electricallyconnected to each other. At this time, this state is set to a full lockstate in which the eject member 16 is located in the “second position”,and no engaging portion 16c can be escaped by the side wall 24, and noengagement of the engaging portion 16c and the notch 26 can be released.

The third embodiment mode shown in FIG. 11 is a modified example of theabove second embodiment mode. In this third embodiment mode, the ejectmember 16 is arranged in a floor portion (guide portion) 24 of thehousing 3. The engaging portion 16c of the eject member 16 is projectedfrom below (instead of from the side) with respect to the card storingspace 31, and can be engaged with the notch 26 formed on the floorportion side of the card. One portion of the floor portion 24 is openedand an escaping space S for downwardly escaping the engaging portion 16cfrom the card storing space is formed.

The inserting situation of the card into the connector in this thirdembodiment mode is shown in the order of FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D. Atthis time, the operation performed by the eject member 16 is completelysimilar to that in each of the first and second embodiment modes. Thestate of FIG. 11C is a half lock state in which the eject member 16 islocated in the “first position”, and the notch 26 and the engagingportion 16c are arranged with each other. In this state, the card can bemanually gripped and easily pulled out. The state of FIG. 11D is a statein which the card and the connector are electrically connected to eachother. At this time, this state is a full lock state in which the ejectmember 16 is located in the “second position”, and no engaging portion16c can be escaped and no engagement of the engaging portion 16c and thenotch 26 can be released.

In the second and third embodiment modes, durability is improved byforming the eject member 16 by a molded product of synthetic resin incomparison with the above first embodiment mode.

Namely, when the engaging portion 16c of the eject member 16 isconstructed by bending a metallic material as in the first embodimentmode and a user compulsorily pulls the card 2 in the full lock state ofFIG. 7D, a strong bending action is taken in a root portion of theengaging portion 16c resisting this pulling. Therefore, there is a fearthat the engaging portion 16c is plastically deformed and the card 2 ispulled out in an extreme case. Otherwise, when no case 2 is pulled outbut the engaging portion 16c is plastically deformed and broken, theprojecting amount of the engaging portion 16c into the card storingspace is reduced so that the holding force of the card 2 in the halflock state of FIG. 7C is reduced.

In contrast to this, in the second and third embodiment modes, theengaging portion 16c of the eject member 16 is constructed in a thickwall shape having a swollen wall. Therefore, no extreme bending actionis taken in the root portion of the engaging portion 16c even whencompulsory pulling-out force is supplied to the card 2 in e.g., the fulllock state of FIG. 1D. Accordingly, the card can be held with forcestronger than the compulsory pulling-out force even when the card 2 iscompulsorily pulled out in this way. Further, it is prevented that theeject member 16 is easily plastically deformed. Accordingly, the life ofa part is extended and the card connector can resist the use for a longperiod.

The above effects can be similarly achieved by constructing only aportion of the engaging portion 16c among the eject member 16 by amolded product of synthetic resin, and constructing the other portions(the spring portion 16d, the push-moving portion 16a, etc.) by ametallic plate member. Further, if the engaging portion is formed in athick wall shape, the effect of the improvement of durability of theabove eject member is similarly shown even in the card connector ofe.g., an eject button type using no heart cam mechanism.

It is possible to adopt a construction able to reliably resist thecompulsory pulling-out of the user in the full lock state by forming theshape of the guide wall 24 as shown in FIG. 12 even when the ejectmember 16 is constructed by a metallic raw material of a thin plateshape as in the above first embodiment mode.

Namely, in this construction of FIG. 12, when the eject plate 16 islocated in the “second position”, a small clearance g is formed betweenthe engaging portion 16c of the eject plate 16 and the guide wall 24,and a projection 24a as a regulating portion is arranged in the guidewall 24 in a position close to an end portion 16e of the engagingportion 16c. The projecting amount of this projecting 24a is set to asmall amount such that the projection 24a and the end portion 16e of theengaging portion do not interfere with each other when the eject member16 is moved by normally pulling and inserting the card between the“first position” and the “second position”.

The action of this construction will be explained. FIG. 12 shows a statein which the card 2 is inserted and the above full lock is attained. Atthis time, the eject plate 16 is held by the heart cam mechanism 19 inthe “second position”. When compulsory pulling-out force is applied fromthis state to the card 2 in error as shown by a thick arrow, theengaging portion 16c is pushed in the card pulling-out direction by aninner wall portion of the notch 26, and a portion 16f at a bending pointof the root of the engaging portion 16c is elastically deformed. As thisresult, the engaging portion 16c is displaced as shown by a chain line,and is escaped by a small amount from the card storing space and itsprojecting amount is reduced. The end portion 16e of the engagingportion 16c then comes in contact with the guide wall 24.

Accordingly, when the card 2 is intended to be further pulled out fromthis state, the end portion 16e of the engaging portion abuts on a sideportion of the projection 24a, and prevents the movement of the ejectplate 16 to the “first position” (together with the above heart cammechanism 19). As this result, the mistaken pulling-out of the card 2 isfirmly prevented and the plastic deformation of the engaging portion 16cis also prevented so that durability is improved.

If the shape for arranging the regulating portion and the clearance inthe guide wall is formed, the effects of the prevention of breakage ofthe engaging portion of the above eject member and the improvement offorce resisting the compulsory pulling-out of the card are similarlyattained even in the card connector of e.g., the eject button type usingno heart cam mechanism.

In the second and third embodiment modes, since the eject member 16 ismolded by synthetic resin, the cam groove of the heart cam 19 can bealso formed on the eject member 16 side instead of the housing 3 side.At this time, one end of the above rod 18 is pivotally mounted to thehousing 3 side, and the other end is freely swung and is inserted intothe cam groove formed in the eject member 16.

In this case, a construction for swinging only the above other end sideof the rod 18 inserted into the cam groove by the width of a formingarea of the heart cam groove is formed instead of the construction fordisplacing the entire rod 18. Accordingly, it is possible to moreprecisely form a construction for biasing the other end of the rod 18 bya leaf spring 20 in the insertion direction into the cam groove, and theoperation of the heart cam mechanism 19 can be more stably performed.

In the above description, the three embodiment modes are shown, but thepush-moving portion 16a, the engaging portion 16c and the spring portion16d of the eject plate 16 may be separately formed instead of theintegral formation. For example, a portion abutting on the end portionof the card in its inserting direction may be constructed instead of theeject plate similarly to the already known slider, etc. (disclosed ine.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-195546 and Japanese Patent No.3083778). Further, a portion engaged with the notch of the card may beformed by a metallic leaf spring, and may be also formed by theseconnections.

The spring for giving the elastic force for discharging the card is notlimited to the tension spring, but may be also a spring formed in ashape described in the above publications.

Further, in the above second and third embodiment modes, the push-movingportion 16a of the eject member 16 is constructed by molding syntheticresin in an L-shape. However, the shape of the push-moving portion 16ais not limited to this L-shape, but various shapes of the push-movingportion 16a such as a triangular shape, etc. can be adopted if thepush-moving portion 16a can abut on the end portion of the card 2 andcan push and move this end portion.

1. A card connector comprising: a housing for forming a card storingspace for inserting a card from an opening, and having an input-outputterminal corresponding to an electrode portion of the card; an ejectmember able to be moved along inserting and pulling directions of thecard, and switched to a “ first position” and a “ second position”located on the side far from said opening in comparison with the “ firstposition” by a heart cam mechanism; biasing means for biasing the ejectmember in the card pulling-out direction; a push-moving portionintegrally formed in said eject member, and able to abut on an endportion of the card in its inserting direction; an engaging portionarranged in said eject member, and projected to the card storing spaceand engaged with a notch formed in the card when said end portion of thecard in its inserting direction comes in contact with said push-movingportion; a spring portion arranged in said eject member, and escapingsaid engaging portion from the card storing space and releasing theengagement of said engaging portion and said notch by elasticallydeforming the spring portion; and a guide portion arranged in saidhousing so as to allow the escape of said engaging portion from the cardstoring space when said eject member is located in the “ first position”, and prevent the escape of said engaging portion from the card storingspace when the eject member is located in the “ second position” .
 2. Acard connector according to claim 1, wherein said engaging portion andsaid spring portion are integrally formed in the eject member.
 3. A cardconnector according to claim 1, wherein said eject member is formed bysynthetic resin.
 4. A card connector comprising: a housing for forming acard storing space for inserting a card from an opening, and having aninput-output terminal corresponding to an electrode portion of the card;an eject member able to be moved along inserting and pulling directionsof the card, and switched to a “ first position” and a “ secondposition” located on the side far from said opening in comparison withthe “ first position” ; biasing means for biasing the eject member inthe card pulling-out direction; a push-moving portion integrally formedin said eject member, and able to abut on an end portion of the card inits inserting direction; an engaging portion arranged in said ejectmember, and projected to the card storing space and engaged with a notchformed in the card when said end portion of the card is its insertingdirection comes in contact with said push-moving portion; a springportion arranged in said eject member, and escaping said engagingportion from the card storing space and releasing the engagement of saidengaging portion and said notch by elastically deforming the springportion; and a guide portion arranged in said housing so as to allow theescape of said engaging portion from the card storing space when saideject member is located in the “ first position” , and prevent theescape of said engaging portion from the card storing space when theeject member is located in the “ second position” ; wherein at least theengaging portion of said eject member is formed by synthetic resin, andthe engaging portion is formed in a thick wall shape.
 5. A cardconnector comprising: a housing for forming a card storing space forinserting a card from an opening, and having an input-output terminalcorresponding to an electrode portion of the card; an eject member ableto be moved along inserting and pulling directions of the card, andswitched to a “ first position” and a “ second position” located on theside far from said opening in comparison with the “ first position” ;biasing means for biasing the eject member in the card pulling-outdirection; a push-moving portion integrally formed in said eject member,and able to abut on an end portion of the card in its insertingdirection; an engaging portion arranged in said eject member, andprojected to the card storing space and engaged with a notch formed inthe card when said end portion of the card in its inserting directioncomes in contact with said push-moving portion; a spring portionarranged in said eject member, and escaping said engaging portion fromthe card storing space and releasing the engagement of said engagingportion and said notch by elastically deforming the spring portion; anda guide portion arranged in said housing so as to allow the escape ofsaid engaging portion from the card storing space when said eject memberis located in the “ first position” , and prevent the escape of saidengaging portion from the card storing space when the eject member islocated in the “ second position” ; wherein said guide portion isconstructed such that said engaging portion engaged with said notch ofthe card can reduce a projecting amount to the card storing space whenthe card is connected to the connector and the eject member is held inthe “ second position” and pulling-out force is applied to the card; anda regulating portion able to prevent the displacement of the ejectmember to the “ first position” is formed in the guide portion when saidengaging portion of the eject member located in the “ second position”reduces the projecting amount to the card storing space.
 6. A cardconnector according to claim 2, wherein said eject member is formed bysynthetic resin.
 7. A card connector comprising: a housing for forming acard storing space for inserting a card from an opening, and having aninput-output terminal corresponding to an electrode portion of the card;an eject member able to be moved along inserting and pulling directionsof the card, and switched to a first position and a second positionlocated on the side far from said opening in comparison with the firstposition by a heart cam mechanism; biasing means for biasing the ejectmember in the card pulling-out direction; a push-moving portionintegrally formed in said eject member, and able to abut on an endportion of the card in its inserting direction; an engaging portionarranged in said eject member, and projected to the card storing spaceand engaged with a notch formed in the card when said end portion of thecard in its inserting direction comes in contact with said push-movingportion; a guide portion arranged in said housing so as to allow theescape of said engaging portion from the card storing space when saideject member is located in the first position, and prevent the escape ofsaid engaging portion from the card storing space when the eject memberis located in the second position, wherein the eject member is locatedin the second position, an end portion of the engaging portion on theside of the opening is in contact with the guide portion, therebypreventing the escape of the engaging portion from the card storingspace.
 8. A card connector according to claim 7, wherein said ejectmember is formed by synthetic resin.
 9. A card connector according toclaim 7, wherein said engaging portion is integrally formed in the ejectmember.
 10. A card connector according to claim 9 wherein said ejectmember is formed by synthetic resin.
 11. A card connector according toclaim 7, wherein when the eject member is located in the secondposition, the end portion of the engaging portion on the side of theopening is in contact with guide portion, across a whole width of theend portion of the engaging portion with respect to a thicknessdirection of the card, thereby preventing the escape of the engagingportion from the card storing space.
 12. A card connector according toclaim 11, wherein said eject member is formed by synthetic resin.
 13. Acard connector according to claim 11, wherein said engaging portion isintegrally formed in the eject member.
 14. A card connector according toclaim 13, wherein said eject member is formed by synthetic resin.